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Stephen John Fry (born 24 August, 1957) is a British comedian, author, actor, and director. He is the son of Alan and Marianne Fry.
He was educated at Stout's Hill, Uppingham and Queens' College, Cambridge. He lives in Norfolk, England and New York City. He is an erstwhile comedy collaborator of
Hugh Laurie. Rather tellingly, he was described as being "a man with a brain the size of Kent" in an interview with Michael Parkinson.
In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
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EuropeAtheist bus campaign spreads the word of no God nationwide
Anyone who has spent a chilly half-hour waiting for a double-decker may already have doubted the existence of a deity. But for those who need further proof, a nationwide advertising campaign aimed at persuading more people to "come out" as atheists was launched today with the backing of some of Britain's most famous non-believers.The principal slogan ? "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" ? can already be seen on four London bus routes, and now 200 bendy buses in London and 600 across the country are to carry the advert after a fundraising drive raised more than £140,000, exceeding the original target of £5,500.The money will also pay for 1,000 advertisements on London Underground from next Monday and on a pair of giant LCD screens opposite Bond Street tube station, in Oxford Street. Organisers unveiled a set of quotes from public figures ? including Albert Einstein, Douglas Adams and Katharine Hepburn ? who have endorsed atheism, or at least expressed scepticism about a Creator. The words "That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet" are quoted from the poet Emily Dickinson.At the launch in a heated marquee next to the Albert Memorial, the television comedy writer Ariane Sherine, creator of the campaign, said: "You wait ages for an atheist bus and then 800 come along at once. I hope they'll brighten people's days and make them smile on their way to work."She suggested the campaign in a Guardian Comment is free blogpost last June, saying it would be a reassuring alternative to religious slogans threatening non-Christians with hell and damnation. At today's launch she said the sheer number of donations, which were still coming in, demonstrated the strength of feeling. "This is a great day for freedom of speech in Britain. I am very glad that we live in a country where people have the freedom to believe in whatever they want."Joining Sherine were Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, Hanne Stinson, from the British Humanist Association (BHA), the philosopher AC Grayling and Graham Linehan, who wrote Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd. There were messages of support from the actor Stephen Fry and the writer Charlie Brooker.According to the BHA, "huge numbers" of people in Britain have non-religious beliefs ? between 30 and 40% of the population, with a higher figure, between 60 and 65%, in young people.Hanne Stinson said: "We all, whether we have religious or non-religious beliefs, have a right to be heard, and no one particular set of beliefs has any more right to influence the public debate than any other. The message isn't aimed at people with religious beliefs ? it's aimed at atheists and agnostics."Most commentators recognised the slogan as a simple statement of non-religious belief and appreciated that it was designed to reassure people there was no reason to worry about being non-religious, she said. "People can lead a happy, enjoyable and rewarding life without religion."Prior to the launch, Sherine was concerned that the posters would be banned from buses operated by Stagecoach, the second largest public transport company in the UK. Its co-founder Brian Souter is a member of the Church of Nazarene, an international evangelical Christian denomination.A Stagecoach spokesman said all adverts on its buses were vetted before being published. "This particular advert is being carried on a number of bus operators' vehicles across the UK. We took advice from the Advertising Standards Authority in advance of publication and we have been advised the advert complies with the relevant guidelines and legislation."The theology thinktank Theos welcomed the campaign, saying it was a "great way" to get people thinking about God. "The posters will encourage people to consider the most important question we will ever face in our lives. The slogan itself is a great discussion starter. Telling someone 'there's probably no God' is a bit like telling them they've probably remembered to lock their door. It creates the doubt that they might not have."A statement from the Methodist Church thanked Dawkins for encouraging a "continued interest in God".The success of the British initiative has inspired atheists around the world. The American Humanist Association launched a bus advertising campaign last November with the slogan, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake", appearing on the sides, rear and insides of Washington DC's 230 buses.The subsequent news coverage generated mostly negative phone calls and emails, with the largest number going directly to the organisers. Hundreds of complaints were sent to Metro, the government body responsible for the city's buses and subways. The poster provoked two counter-campaigns by devout Christians.From Monday, buses in Barcelona bearing a Spanish translation of the British slogan will hit the streets, to the consternation of the city's Catholic hierarchy, while Italy's Union of Atheist, Agnostics and Rationalists plans to roll out atheist buses.Atheists in Australia have fared badly with their campaign. Attempts to place slogans such as "Atheism ? sleep in on Sunday mornings" on buses were rejected by Australia's biggest outdoor advertising company, APN Outdoor.AtheismReligionTransportLondonAdvertisingMarketing & PRRace & religionRichard DawkinsAtheist busguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Published: Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:20:57 GMT - Source: Guardian.Co.Uk - Read the articleLiteratureRecently at Boing Boing Gadgets
Recently at Boing Boing Gadgets, we endured Black Friday (which turned out to be Gray Friday for gadgets) and mundane gadget spam to bring you delights like humping USB M.U.S.C.L.E men. John spotted Stephen Fry's laconic review of the BlackBerry Storm, a tiny computer that screws into your monitor's VESA mounts, and new wireless earbuds from Sennheiser. With netbooks threatening to cannibalise general computer sales, Intel would prefer you bought things with profitable hi-performance chips. TechCrunch hates 'em, too: or at least 7" ones with 256MB of RAM running Vista on Via Nano processors. Lori Drew, who taunted a youngster on MySpace, was convicted of computer hacking. Boing Boing Gadgets...
Published: Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:57:01 GMT - Source: Boingboing.Net - Read the articleEuropePerformers fear 'safety first' will lead to exodus of talent as programme makers feel the chill
Fears are growing among performers that the BBC will become too risk-averse in the wake of this week's furore over Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand, as the backlash against the departure of the Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas also swelled yesterday. Some fear there will be an inevitable "chilling" effect despite attempts by the BBC Trust chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, to quell worries that its looming review of editorial guidelines and a management clampdown on "high-risk" areas would have an adverse effect on its output. Dara O'Briain, the comedian who hosts a BBC2 show that became a minor player in the drama when newspapers picked up on a rude joke about the Queen made by one of the Mock the Week panellists, said the corporation should not clamp down on risky comedy. "We are now entering day six of man-has-his-feelings-hurt-gate. I stand by 100% any of the things we've ever said," he said. "There's no way we can ever do a show while thinking 'Will David Davis MP approve of this?' Not all shows are intended for all people."The controversy was sparked when Brand and Ross left a series of lewd messages on the answer machine of actor Andrew Sachs. When the Mail on Sunday picked up the story a week later, it resulted in 37,500 complaints, an Ofcom investigation, a three-month unpaid suspension for Ross, and the resignations of Douglas and Brand. The BBC director general, Mark Thompson, attempted to wrest back control of the spiralling crisis on Thursday by suspending Ross and announcing the resignation of Douglas. He will deliver a full review on November 20 to the BBC Trust, which said it was "dismayed" and ordered an overhaul of editorial and compliance controls in BBC radio. Ross will not return to the screen until next January, losing £1.3m in pay, and some BBC insiders questioned whether he could return to his Radio 2 slot at all, given his part in Douglas's downfall. It was announced that he would not host the British Comedy Awards on ITV in December during his suspension from the BBC. He has special dispensation in his £6m a year contract to present the awards. A spokesman for Ross said: "He would not want his participation in this year's event to take away from the awards themselves." Some BBC executives said that compliance procedures had already become more onerous in the wake of last year's scandals over faked competitions and that new systems would inevitably mean erring on the side of caution. Comedian Jimmy Carr, who has worked for both the BBC and Channel 4, said the furore was "a storm in a teacup" and said there was a "silent majority" who didn't believe Ross' punishment fitted the crime. "Being on TV at the moment is like being at school and getting told off all the time," he said. Lyons, who has faced criticism for not acting publicly quickly enough, said: "What this incident shows is that there are still areas of the BBC where the editorial responsibilities are not being taken seriously enough and they need to be reinforced." The departure of Douglas, the Radio 2 and 6 Music controller who brought the curtain down on a 23-year BBC career after saying she ought to carry the can for mistakes made "on my watch", was widely lamented. DJs including Terry Wogan and Chris Evans have spoken of their sadness at her decision to resign. "I just hope that at least her sacrifice will bring everything back down to earth a little bit and will give a sense of proportion," Wogan told BBC News. Brand, who resigned on Wednesday in a failed effort to take responsibility for the scandal, said of Douglas's decision: "I think it's really sad and I am upset." Asked if he felt responsible for her departure he quipped: "I do. I wish I could resign twice but I'm not Peter Mandelson." Douglas could re-emerge in the music industry, where she was considered one of the most powerful and passionate figures in breaking British acts to mainstream audiences. Christian O'Connell, the breakfast DJ on Absolute Radio, said: "I think it's a terrible over-reaction. I know how well respected Lesley is across the industry. I know I will [be more risk-averse]. If you're a producer at the BBC right now, you're not going to be taking any chances." But others said that Douglas was undone by her determination to give Brand a slot on the station, seen by some as one step too far in her policy of bringing in younger audiences and wooing key television talent. "The analogy I make is: Achilles, great body - shame about the heel," broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said. "She had all of these amazing qualities and wonderful abilities - but she had this one obsession that proved to be her downfall." John Lloyd, the producer of Spitting Image who is also behind the Stephen Fry-fronted panel show QI, said he hoped the incident led to a reappraisal of how risk- taking television was defined. "What passes for risk-taking in television today is showing people having sex on Big Brother. That's not a risk - it's just grubby," he said.BBCComedyTelevisionRadioTelevisionRadioJonathan RossRussell Brandguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Published: Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:08:32 GMT - Source: Guardian.Co.Uk - Read the article
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